Bethesda Pool opening this weekend

The public Bethesda Pool at 6300 Hillandale Road in Bethesda will open for the Summer 2025 season this weekend, May 24, at 12:00 PM. Initial operating hours of the pool from May 24 through June 13 will be 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM on weekends, and 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM, 3:00 - 6:00 PM on Memorial Day. From June 14 through August 15, the pool will be open 1:00 PM - 8:00 PM on weekdays, and 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM on weekends. 

Daily admission is $5 for Montgomery County residents under age 18, $7 for adults, and $6 for seniors 55 and older. A driver’s license or other proof of residency is required at the admission counter. General admission for non-residents is $20. Summer pool passes are available if you want to skip the line at the pool.

Snack bar reopens at Bethesda Pool

I have an update on the snack bar situation at the Bethesda Pool on Little Falls Parkway. On Friday, I reported that a new vendor was being brought in, after the most recent one quit due to lack of profits.

As of Friday, the new vendor was in the process of getting the necessary permits and inspections to open the snack bar, and hoped to open before the season was over.

Good news: This morning, Montgomery County Department of Recreation Director Gabriel Albornoz reports that the new vendor began serving food and beverages over the weekend.

Why is the snack bar closed at the Bethesda Pool?

Patrons of the Bethesda Pool on Little Falls Parkway this summer have been wondering why the snack bar has been closed. According to Carmen Berrios of the Montgomery County Department of Recreation, the previous private vendor was unable to make a profit, and the department had to find another operator.

Berrios says they have reached an agreement with a new vendor, and that applicant is currently in the process of obtaining the necessary permits and County inspections required before opening. The department hopes that the snack bar will reopen this season.

Given that the pool has been overcrowded in recent years, and temperatures at record highs during most of those years, it seems hard to believe that a vendor selling the right summer drinks, hot dogs and frozen treats would be unable to turn a profit there.

Bethesda Pool opens today at noon

The semi-official start to summer is always marked by the opening of the public Bethesda Pool, located at Little Falls Parkway and Hillandale Road. Stuck in town for Memorial Day Weekend? Head to the pool for a poor man/woman's version of sun and water at this pool convenient to downtown Bethesda.

The pool will be open from noon to 6 PM today, Sunday, and Memorial Day.

You can park in the lot on-site, or at an auxiliary lot north of the intersection of Little Falls Parkway and Arlington Road. Reaching the pool is also easy via the Capital Crescent Trail, which runs alongside the pool property.

The fees are as follows:

ADMISSION FEES FOR NON-PASS HOLDERS (PER EACH ENTRY)
	County Resident	Non-County Weekday	Non-County Weekend
Minor (age 1-17 years )	$4.00	$6.50	$7.00
Adult (age 18 and older )	$6.00	$7.50	$8.00
Senior (age 55 and over, with I.D. )	$4.50	$6.50	$7.00

PARTIAL CLOSURE OF LITTLE FALLS PARKWAY LOT TO IMPACT BETHESDA POOL PATRONS

A portion of the public parking lot just north of Arlington Road on Little Falls Parkway will close Monday, April 28. It will remain closed from tomorrow through December, while it is utilized as a staging area for WSSC contractors for the Bethesda Waterline Replacement project. That project itself has generated complaints from residents closer to the actual work.

One has to ask if this is an appropriate use of public property. The loss of parking spaces will surely be a problem when the Bethesda Pool opens in May, as the lot handles overflow parking for that Little Falls Parkway recreational facility. This is just the latest insult to users of Little Falls Stream Valley Park over the last few years, with the Hoyt/Betco property decision and results being the most notable.

BETHESDA PUBLIC POOL OPENS SATURDAY

For those in Bethesda who either don't have a membership to "the club," or a rooftop pool atop your building - and with temperatures in the 90s forecast for the weekend - you'll be glad to know the Bethesda public pool on Little Falls Parkway opens Saturday.

The pool will be open from noon until 6 on weekends intitially.

Starting June 11, it will be then be open on weekdays, and close every night at 8:00 PM.

Call for information regarding swimming lessons.

Hint:  if you live in downtown Bethesda, it's an easy walk on the Capital Crescent Trail.

Bethesda Pool, 6300 Little Falls Parkway.  301-652-1598.

COAST GUARD, EPA, HAZMAT TEAM INVESTIGATE RED SUBSTANCE FLOWING THROUGH PIPE BENEATH DOWNTOWN BETHESDA

COUNTY, STATE, FEDERAL AUTHORITIES

RESPOND AFTER STORMWATER UNDER

BETHESDA - AND LITTLE FALLS STREAM -

TURN RED THURSDAY

ANOTHER ROBERT DYER @ BETHESDA ROW EXCLUSIVE!!!

Several Bethesda residents were startled Thursday when a tributary of Little Falls Stream turned red.

Montgomery County DEP takes sample of red water that drained into a
Little Falls Stream tributary from a stormwater pipe that runs beneath
downtown Bethesda (Courtesy: Steve Martin/DEP)

Some reported their discovery to the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection.

The tributary is near the Bethesda Pool between Bradley Boulevard and Little Falls Parkway.

According to Steve Martin of the DEP, agency employees were on the scene before 4:00 PM Thursday.  Based on their experience, they believed it was a harmless dye used often to test pipe flows.  However, they conducted several tests to be certain.  Tests for typical stream pollutants were all negative.  They found no ill or deceased wildlife in the water.

One or more citizens who had noticed the red substance called the National Response Center of the EPA.  As a result, members of the Coast Guard, EPA, and a Montgomery County Hazmat team rushed to the scene, as well.  All agencies eventually reached the conclusion that it was a dye.

Friday, they checked the outflow north of the pool, and it "was clear," Martin said.  It turns out the pipe that empties into the tributary runs underneath Arlington Road, as far north as Hampden Lane.  Agents checked the water at Hampden Lane and found it was clear there, too.

After some further investigation, the DEP has concluded that the red substance came from a commercial or residential building in downtown Bethesda, between Hampden Lane and Bradley Boulevard.  Martin said it will be difficult to determine exactly which building was responsible.

Authorities seem satisfied that there is no danger to the public or wildlife.  However, the conclusions did not seem to include a definitive identification of the red mystery substance.  Did you notice the red water anywhere in the Little Falls watershed?  Are you satisfied with the DEP explanation?  Leave your comments below.

There doesn't appear to be any evidence that the substance is toxic so far.  However, there are many known and unknown pollutants in the Little Falls stream.  Personally, I would advise people to not make contact with the water in this, or almost any other stream in Montgomery County.  And that includes pets, as well.  There are a variety of natural and chemical pollutants, and in some cases, sewage contamination.  Little Falls has been under a water advisory for excessive levels of bacteria on occasion.

I can recall seeing soap-like suds and bubbles in the Little Falls watershed on two separate occasions.  What's that about?  And sometimes there will be an odd smell, such as around the branch that crosses underneath River Road, just west of Willard Avenue.

So, enjoy the streams, but use common sense and practical precautions.

BETHESDA

HAWK HOMICIDE

TEST RESULTS

ARE BACK

Maryland DNR Rules Out Poisoning;

Missing Talons Raise Questions

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

Maryland's Department of Natural Resources has completed testing on one of two deceased Cooper's hawks found by the Bethesda Pool on Little Falls Parkway.

The deaths were considered suspicious, but the DNR's investigation results have failed to end the suspense: Who or what dunnit?

Poison was ruled out by laboratory testing; the DNR lists "debilitation" as the official cause of death.

But now, the plot thickens.

The DNR reports that the hawk was "missing talons, which limited its ability to capture prey." End of story, apparently, for the state agency.

But not for Ace Ventura, Pet Detective!

The DNR's explanation is that the hawk couldn't feed himself and died in a debilitated state. Okay, but what about the second hawk? How do you explain two dead hawks, in the same location, with no apparent external injuries? Was the other one depending on the first to capture prey? And how does a predator with no enemies in Bethesda lose several talons?

All of these questions simply heighten the suspense. The hawk case is far from closed.

The Case of the Missing Talons.

It's known that hawks, while fierce predators, can also die instantly of fright. But that doesn't make their talons disappear.

Hawks are also commonly victims of parasites, and the diseases those parasites can spread. Talon loss is not a symptom or result listed by any source I've found on hawk ailments. Trichinella pseudospriralis-related infections "are known to cause severe debilitation and death in Cooper's hawks," according to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. But not known to cause talon loss.

Perhaps it could be argued that he died of an infection, and that the missing talons were unrelated. But the DNR claims he died precisely because his talons were missing.

Having exhausted all resources, I contacted the Cascades Raptor Center in Eugene, Oregon.

Executive Director Louise Shimmel said some aspects of the Bethesda hawk deaths are fairly common: 60% of juvenile hawks die during their first winter, and emaciation is not unusual among them.

But the fact that the tested hawk was missing talons "is definitely unusual," Shimmel said. Captured rodent prey could have fought back, but it would be nearly impossible to have injured more than one talon, she noted. And snapping traps aren't baited with anything hawks would want. Ultimately, Shimmel said there is no good explanation for the missing talons. "It's not that easy to lose a talon."

We have a real mystery on our hands here, ladies and gentlemen.

Whodunnit? Whatdunnit?

This could be Ace Ventura's toughest case yet. Stay tuned for future updates as we try to solve this mysterious and baffling puzzle.